The Influence of HR

The job of business is to satisfy a need.  Or a want (which always feels like a need.)  To sell.  To produce. To build.  To distribute.  To grow.  And to produce a profit that allows the cycle to continue.  Business is Sales and Operations.  If you ever started a business, you know that your first question was "what am I selling?"

The rest of the team - if done right - enables those teams to make and to sell.  The Human Resources group not only serves as the enabling team for Sales and Operations, it serves as the enabling team for every function in the business. 

Without the business strategy defined so employees "are clear", without organizations designed that make it easier to get the job done, without the "right" work defined and the "right" people in place, without processes that make the rules of business easier to navigate -- there will be no sustainable growth.

The long stale discussion of HR having a seat at the table would be funny if it wasn't so sad.  The truth is - it's a Human Capital Investment Table.  And smart and saavy Human Capital/Human Resources folks know that they need to "host" the table. 

In places where we don't find smart and saavy HR - we don't generally see differentiated, sustainable human capital investment.  Not to mention...that we don't see much hospitality either.

It's a game of influence.  To have influence means you understand the game, you understand the stakes and the stakeholders, you understand power.  And you chose to be a player....influencing outcomes in a postive way becasue you know HR, you know your business, you know your employees and your potential employees, you know your customers.  And you are willing to keep learning.  The role of HR - this role of influencing human capital investment and the consequential outcomes of the business is critical - vital - to success.  And for all the whining, it's exciting to see many HR leaders stepping up and stepping into a role of critical influence.

That's what I think!  I'd love to hear what you think!

Business Acumen & The People Side of Business

It's not just that we "want a seat at the table" - we want to influence the conversation that take place and the business decisions that get made.  Much has been written about the need for HR practitioners to demonstrate business acumen.  This has caused a proliferation of "Finance for Non-Finance Professionals" classes.  The challenge, of course, is that learning the basics is just the first step.

The work acumen is defined as sharpness of mind: the ability to make quick accurate intelligent judgments about people or situations.   "Make" - "Quick" - "Accurate" - "Intelligent" - "Judgements" - "People" - Situations." 

When I read that definition, it reminds me again that really good HR people are really good business people.  They aren't leaders who simply added "how to read a P&L" to their skill set (although that is important).  They are the leaders who understand how changing the talent mix, changing incentive plans, changing a culture (the list goes on) impacts the P&L.  And based on "what they know", they do, in fact, "make quick accurate intelligent judgements/decisions/recommendation abut people and situations/options."

I'd love to hear what you think.....

Faith At and Faith In Work

It's the beginning of the New Year, and I'm finding that the conversations are enthusiastic after a nice break. The holiday provided time for rest and time for reflection. People are ready to again experience success and optimism.

Our dear friend, Randy Hain, has written a book - The Catholic Briefcase (you can purchase it at Amazon). Randy is a strong and faithful Roman Catholic and I am not -- good Scot Irish Presbyterian here, and still I found it an important read. As the back cover states, "Randy takes his faith to work". I do, too, and so do many, actually most of you. Frankly, it seems to me that it is impossible to come to work with less than our whole selves - whether we give voice to it or not.

The question for us on the People Side of Business, is what do we do with that faith when we do show up at work. One of the seeming benefits of this difficult economic time is that as folks have leaned into their own faith, they have been more willing to share their own story and to ask about yours. As HR folks, this can feel very comforting and helpful and it can also cause concerns about respect, conflict and legalities. It's a thin line between sharing a story and not stepping on toes.

My grandparents came up in time when business people of faith quietly took care of others. They didn't talk faith, they "did" faith. Perhaps there is part of an answer in their approach. This quiet caring and sense of corporate responsibility is one of the reasons that I love metro Atlanta and "its Atlanta Way" of taking care of this community.

Certainly leading by example and being good stewards is a personal place to begin (both topics are covered in Randy's book). We want to be intentional in showing our faith story, not just talking about it.

Our HR and business magazines often discuss religiosity run amok in the workplace, but certainly there is a hunger for real dialogue. We have to figure out how and when.

Of course, Randy (and me and many of you) would say it starts with prayer. Getting focused within yourself about your role in the workplace, opening yourself up to being a role model and a leader - brave and true- that you are called to be. Creating opportunities where people can bring the "whole of them" into the workplace....

I'd love to hear what you think.....

Wishing you Peace and Joy and Love in the New Year.